“We had already decided to promote Linux in the ITAschool programme. Now we are taking a step further by making the state a free software destination,” the southern state’s 83-year-old chief minister, V.S. Achuthanandan, told AFP.

“We are going to create a talent pool for Linux. Our students will be trained in Linux operating systems and we are going to develop a training module,” he said of the new initiative.

Eventually, he said, the sunshine state should have in place a comprehensive support network.
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A former director of the ITASchool programme, the initiative that kicked off the state’s Linux drive and which has exposed some six million students to computers, suggested the new initiative was also aimed at sending a message to Microsoft.
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“It’s a good initiative. Earlier most of the people preferred Microsoft Windows because there was no effective support services for the Linux users,” said Biju Prabhakar.

“More professionals will be trained in Linux and finally Microsoft will be forced to reduce their licensing fee, or make available their secret code.”